The Dow rose 11.54 points, or 0.1%, to 13564.64, rising for the fifth time in six sessions and bouncing back from Monday's 40-point decline.

Stocks pulled back for a second session after reduced earnings projections from FedEx countered a firm reading from the housing market. Matt Jarzemsky has details on The News Hub. Photo: Getty Images.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 1.87 points, or 0.1%, to 1459.32. Energy and materials stocks were the biggest losers. Financial stocks also were weak, and
Bank of America
was the worst-performing blue chip, dropping seven cents, or 0.8%, to $9.23. Stocks in the consumer-staples sector put in the best showing, with
Kraft Foods
adding 72 cents, or 1.8%, to 40.42.

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FedEx declined 2.73, or 3.1%, to 86.55, after the parcel-delivery company reported fiscal first-quarter profit and revenue that topped analyst estimates but cut its full-year earnings outlook. This month, FedEx warned that a slowdown in global manufacturing activity would hurt its bottom line. FedEx and
United Parcel Service
,
which dropped 72 cents, or 1%, to 73.51, tend to offer clues about the pace of economic activity because they ship goods around the globe.

The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.87 point, or less than 0.1%, to 3177.80, finishing with back-to-back declines for the first time in four weeks. The tech-oriented Nasdaq inched lower even as Apple closed above $700 for the first time, adding 2.13, or 0.3%, to 701.91. On Monday, Apple reported that orders for the new iPhone 5 exceeded the company's initial supply.

Stocks pared early declines after the National Association of Home Builders said home builders' confidence rose to its highest level in more than six years in September, marking its fifth consecutive gain.

Market watchers said stocks are looking for direction after last week's announcement by the Federal Reserve to launch a bond-buying program aimed at kick-starting growth and hiring. The European Central Bank also signaled similar action this month.

"Markets are still trying to figure out what to make of it, and there's no flood of buyers or sellers today," said
Michael Farr,
president of Farr, Miller & Washington.

European markets ended broadly lower. The Stoxx Europe 600 index declined 0.4% as Spain's reluctance to ask for a full bailout and economic-growth concerns weighed on sentiment. Separately, data showed that German economic expectations rose in September but the increase fell short of forecasts.

Asian markets also fell as anti-Japan protests in China, related to a dispute over islands in the East China Sea, led more Japanese-owned companies to suspend manufacturing operations. China's Shanghai Composite slid 0.9% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average lost 0.4%.

Crude-oil prices fell 1.4%, to settle at $95.29 a barrel, while gold prices inched up less than 0.1%, to settle at $1,768.40 a troy ounce. The dollar rose against the euro and yen. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.808%.

Meanwhile, stock-exchange operators are looking at trades across seven oil-related stocks, including National Oilwell Varco,
Cameron International
and
Rowan Cos
.
, after prices moved sharply higher about 15 minutes before markets closed.

NYSE Euronext
,
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and Direct Edge Holdings LLC reviewed the activity and said the trades would stand. The episode follows Monday's late-day selloff in oil and other trading glitches in recent months.

In corporate news,
Advanced Micro Devices
slumped 39 cents, or 9.7%, to 3.62, and was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500 after the microchip maker said its chief financial officer,
Thomas Seifert,
would resign.

Alpha Natural Resources
tumbled 20 cents, or 2.5%, to 7.88, after the coal miner said it would shut mines and cut about 9% of its workforce as part of efforts to shift resources away from extracting coal used to fire power plants, which is less profitable than coal used in steelmaking.

Dole Food
fell 10 cents, or 0.7%, to 13.80, after the company said it reached an agreement to sell its packaged foods and Asia fresh produce businesses to Japan's
Itochu
for $1.69 billion.

Battery maker
Energizer Holdings
surged 7.30, or 11%, 75.22, after the company rolled out a plan to save money by trimming its global workforce and spending.

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